Holographic duals of 6d RG flows
A notable class of superconformal theories (SCFTs) in six dimensions is parameterized by an integer $N$, an ADE group $G$, and two nilpotent elements $\mu_\mathrm{L,R}$ in $G$. Nilpotent elements have a natural partial ordering, which has been conjectured to coincide with the hierarchy of renormalization-group flows among the SCFTs. In this paper we test this conjecture for $G=\mathrm{SU}(k)$, where AdS$_7$ duals exist in IIA. We work with a seven-dimensional gauged supergravity, consisting of the gravity multiplet and two $\mathrm{SU}(k)$ non-Abelian vector multiplets. We show that this theory has many supersymmetric AdS$_7$ vacua, determined by two nilpotent elements, which are naturally …
AdS$_3$ solutions with exceptional supersymmetry
Among the possible superalgebras that contain the AdS$_3$ isometries, two interesting possibilities are the exceptional $F(4)$ and $G(3)$. Their R-symmetry is respectively SO(7) and $G_2$, and the amount of supersymmetry ${\cal N}=8$ and ${\cal N}=7$. We find that there exist two (locally) unique solutions in type IIA supergravity that realize these superalgebras, and we provide their analytic expressions. In both cases, the internal space is obtained by a round six-sphere fibred over an interval, with an O8-plane at one end. The R-symmetry is the symmetry group of the sphere; in the $G(3)$ case, it is broken to $G_2$ by fluxes. We also find several numerical ${\cal N}=1$ solutions with $G_…
On AdS7 stability
AdS$_7$ supersymmetric solutions in type IIA have been classified, and they are infinitely many. Moreover, every such solution has a non-supersymmetric sister. In this paper, we study the perturbative and non-perturbative stability of these non-supersymmetric solutions, focusing on cases without orientifolds. Perturbatively, we first look at the KK spectrum of spin-2 excitations. This does not exhibit instabilities, but it does show that there is no separation of scales for either the BPS and the non-BPS case, thus proving for supersymmetric AdS$_7$ a well-known recent conjecture. We then use 7d gauged supergravity and a brane polarization computation to access part of the spectrum of KK sc…
The geometry of N=3 AdS4 in massive IIA
The geometry of the ${\cal N} = 3$, SO(4)--invariant, AdS$_4$ solution of massive type IIA supergravity that uplifts from the ${\cal N} = 3 $ vacuum of $D=4$ ${\cal N} = 8$ dyonic ISO(7) supergravity is investigated. Firstly, a $D=4$, SO(4)--invariant restricted duality hierarchy is constructed and used to uplift the entire, dynamical SO(4)--invariant sector to massive type IIA. The resulting consistent uplift formulae are used to obtain a new local expression for the ${\cal N} = 3 $ AdS$_4$ solution in massive IIA and analyse its geometry. Locally, the internal $S^6$ geometry corresponds to a warped fibration of $S^2$ and a hemisphere of $S^4$. This can be regarded as a warped generalisati…